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Help! Cory lying on its side.
- Thread starter connorlindeman
- Start date
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the videos still processing
DoubleDutch
Fish Gatherer
The second one worries me as well.
I suspect these wildcaught corries lack "something" in their diet you're providing.
I'd up and variate in living / frozen food.
Feed every day !
I suspect these wildcaught corries lack "something" in their diet you're providing.
I'd up and variate in living / frozen food.
Feed every day !
OP
OP
Ok. I start doing the frozen every day till i get living. What type of living food would they need?
Which species are they again? There are a few that look similar to these, but I'm hitting a mental blank! So many cory species. They're a lovely one though. Their paleness does worry me though, and the sickly one looks like a skinny female to me, but I may be wrong. Think it's a female, but lacking the chunkiness I see in my females.
Thank you for being so willing to take pics and videos, and answering questions!
It does help a lot.I'm afraid I can't help much with the one that was on it's side, that's really worrying. But it sounds as though it improved after the water change, so I would personally do daily 50% water changes for a while. Don't clean the filter unless the flow slows or it seems blocked - let the new media get properly colonised, then make sure to only rinse the media out in old tank water once you do begin cleaning it in a few weeks time.
How long have you had these guys? My impression of your tank is that it's very pretty and clean, I can see how much work and effort you've put into it! So the following isn't a criticism at all, just some optional suggestions based on my experience with cories.
The sand is very pale, which can make fish look washed out and pale. It's not typical for their wild environment, you know? They're used to a darker substrate. The tank is also very open and exposed - and so importantly for wild caught fish especially, cories like to have spots they can hide in. In the vid the cory spooked, but had nowhere to hide, so sat and panted, looking stressed. Stress kills fish, and it would be a good start to add a good amount of hardscape and planting/leaves that would help them feel safer and more secure. Let them hide away when scared or sleeping, and they'll be less stressed.
So I would add a load of Indian almond leaves, to help provide some cover over the substrate, and for the beneficial properties they have. Oak and Beech leaves are also good alternatives. I'd add a lot of "furniture" to provide hiding spots. Like pieces of driftwood and/or stone, coconut huts, or terracotta pots, whatever you can add that will give them little corners and areas to hide away in. Some dense planting can help too, some bunches of java fern weighted and left to sit on the substrate or attached to decor low down works, or bunches of crytocorynes planted to provide a hidy corner.
I truly believe this will help your fish out a lot.
Watched the vid again, and yep, they're trying to hide in that left back corner behind the fake plants. So in the meantime, I would personally move the ship and some more of the fake plants to create a little dense barrier around that corner, so they can use that as their base in the meantime, and don't feel so exposed and stressed out. That will hopefully help them calm down and feel more secure in the meantime. Also dim the lights,fish feel less stressed in the darkness. Those lights are quite bright, and those lights also reflect off the pale substrate.
@Byron what do you think? With your cory experience and wisdom around recreating natural environments, I wonder whether you have any thoughts on these suggestions I made in post #21 if you don't mind watching that video too, and if you have any other suggestions to help make these cories feel safer!
@Byron what do you think? With your cory experience and wisdom around recreating natural environments, I wonder whether you have any thoughts on these suggestions I made in post #21 if you don't mind watching that video too, and if you have any other suggestions to help make these cories feel safer!
I would agree the sand is white and that is something best avoided with any forest fish, but there are ways to alleviate the problem. Chunks of wood, and dried leaves as suggested. I have a 40g with 40 cories that were all wild caught and I've had them over a decade, including a fry from 5 or 6 species along the way, and they spend a lot of time hidden in or behind the chunks of Malaysian Driftwood I have in this tank. I like this wood because it sinks immediately, and it has crevices and tunnels in many of the chunks that cories and loaches really appreciate. Floating plants also benefit because they shade the overhead light, and these fish will always feel safer.
OP
OP
Thank you for all your help! I really appreciate it.Thank you for being so willing to take pics and videos, and answering questions!
I'm afraid I can't help much with the one that was on it's side, that's really worrying. But it sounds as though it improved after the water change, so I would personally do daily 50% water changes for a while. Don't clean the filter unless the flow slows or it seems blocked - let the new media get properly colonised, then make sure to only rinse the media out in old tank water once you do begin cleaning it in a few weeks time.
How long have you had these guys? My impression of your tank is that it's very pretty and clean, I can see how much work and effort you've put into it! So the following isn't a criticism at all, just some optional suggestions based on my experience with cories.
The sand is very pale, which can make fish look washed out and pale. It's not typical for their wild environment, you know? They're used to a darker substrate. The tank is also very open and exposed - and so importantly for wild caught fish especially, cories like to have spots they can hide in. In the vid the cory spooked, but had nowhere to hide, so sat and panted, looking stressed. Stress kills fish, and it would be a good start to add a good amount of hardscape and planting/leaves that would help them feel safer and more secure. Let them hide away when scared or sleeping, and they'll be less stressed.
So I would add a load of Indian almond leaves, to help provide some cover over the substrate, and for the beneficial properties they have. Oak and Beech leaves are also good alternatives. I'd add a lot of "furniture" to provide hiding spots. Like pieces of driftwood and/or stone, coconut huts, or terracotta pots, whatever you can add that will give them little corners and areas to hide away in. Some dense planting can help too, some bunches of java fern weighted and left to sit on the substrate or attached to decor low down works, or bunches of crytocorynes planted to provide a hidy corner.
I truly believe this will help your fish out a lot.
Ive had these for about 3 months.
I definitely don't take any offense to advice
I'll get some wood to add to the tank. Some leaves as well.
I took some of my floating water sprite and covered up the corner you suggested. The corys did move over there. The sick one also tried to get over there but was a bit too weak to make it.
Again, thanks so much for your help!
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I wish I had researched color more before I changed out the gravel for sand! This is quikrete play sand.
I'll get some leaves and some wood to add to the tank to make them feel safer. I do have water sprite floating, but I just took a bunch to make a "guarded" corner for them to hang out in.
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Here's the corner after adding more plants. You can see the sick cory in front
I turned off the light after taking the picture.
I turned off the light after taking the picture.
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I forget what species they are
I think it started with "hume"? I'm not sure.
Really? I had no idea they had a white play sand now. There used to be a buff tone (what most would think of as normal beach sand) and a dark grey which I happen to have got hold of from my local Home Depot. I will say though that the dark grey looks white under water and the tank 6500K light, which rather surprised me; dry in my hand it most assuredly is very dark. Maybe the fish see it differently than I do outside the tank.
The photo below is a different tank from my main cory tank, but it shows how you can hide a lot of the substrate with wood, rock and dried leaves.
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This is branch wood, which is ideal for most forest fish tanks, but for a different reason. Cories do love browsing branches, as they hunt for microscopic critters in the biofilm. And many of the small shoaling species use branches as "cover," mall as they are. Cardinal tetras occur in habitats full of branches like this one.
Malaysian Driftwood photos below, every piece being natural is unique.
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